After running the Phoenix Suns' business side for more than nine years, CEO and President Rick Welts has resigned. Welts, who is openly gay, has shown interest in other work, though he claims the resignation was not from a poor experience with the front office in Phoenix.
The 58-year old also indicated he was not leaving for a different job, but to live in a different city. He has recently begun a new relationship and his partner currently lives in Sacramento.
"The most important thing for me is to get my personal and professional lives better aligned," Welts told The Arizona Republic, "They've probably never been aligned. I'm 58 years old and it's time to do that.
"This isn't one of those departures to see greener pastures. It really is completely a personal situation. These guys have been tremendously accommodating and any other inference than that is absolutely crazy."
Welts is credited for the creation of All-Star Weekend in 1984, for the 1992 Dream Team's marketing and for his significant role in forming the WNBA in 1996.
For multiple years under Welts' control, the Suns ranked near the top of the NBA in attendance and the franchise's fan base expanded all across the country.
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